New Found Folder Love

Well, my disease remains rampant. Now expecting a fully formed but new to me Welta 6x6 Weltur with a 75/2.8 Schneider Xenar, hopefully soon to be winging its way into my warm and loving arms.
In the meantime, it appears to me that the alignment on the rangefinder of my Bessa RF has slipped further and that focus has become only intermittently reliable (of course much the same has been said of me through most of my checkered life, especially concerning my photographic skills) and the Zeiss Ikonta C has resumed pride of place, at least until either the arrival of the newest joy or Jugen's opportunity to rectify the hopefully simple faults of the Bessa (I suppose the Zeiss and Weltur should eventually join his waiting list just to received welcoming CLAs even if no further fault is divined).
For the sake of my wallet and marriage I do hope this Weltur will satisfy my new found lust for at least a week or two, and that enough 120 film remains to feed my new hungry mouths. 6x8.5" prints (available at my local pro shop, Helix of Chicago) are truly a beautiful thing to behold. The detail is remarkable and certainly leave 4x6" in the dust. Too much negative for such a small print; wasteful. I imagine 6x6" prints will do nicely for the Weltur as it has in the past for my Rollei SL66e (also truly a work of art but in place neither on this forum nor in my pocket).
Happy happy joy joy, let the good times need never end. This is drastically cutting into my LF photo time, but eventually a new and just balance will be struck. So little time, yet so much film to defile.
Best regards to all you folder sorts and just plain RF fans out there,
Larry
 
ljsegil said:
Well, my disease remains rampant. Now expecting a fully formed but new to me Welta 6x6 Weltur with a 75/2.8 Schneider Xenar, hopefully soon to be winging its way into my warm and loving arms.
In the meantime, it appears to me that the alignment on the rangefinder of my Bessa RF has slipped further and that focus has become only intermittently reliable (of course much the same has been said of me through most of my checkered life, especially concerning my photographic skills) and the Zeiss Ikonta C has resumed pride of place, at least until either the arrival of the newest joy or Jugen's opportunity to rectify the hopefully simple faults of the Bessa (I suppose the Zeiss and Weltur should eventually join his waiting list just to received welcoming CLAs even if no further fault is divined).
For the sake of my wallet and marriage I do hope this Weltur will satisfy my new found lust for at least a week or two, and that enough 120 film remains to feed my new hungry mouths. 6x8.5" prints (available at my local pro shop, Helix of Chicago) are truly a beautiful thing to behold. The detail is remarkable and certainly leave 4x6" in the dust. Too much negative for such a small print; wasteful. I imagine 6x6" prints will do nicely for the Weltur as it has in the past for my Rollei SL66e (also truly a work of art but in place neither on this forum nor in my pocket).
Happy happy joy joy, let the good times need never end. This is drastically cutting into my LF photo time, but eventually a new and just balance will be struck. So little time, yet so much film to defile.
Best regards to all you folder sorts and just plain RF fans out there,
Larry
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Just out of curiosity, what is C6 charging for a CLA these days? I like to keep my prices a good bit lower than his and Essex's.
 
Well, thanks to the kind, wise, and knowing help of Fallisphoto I now understand that what I perceived as a rangefinder issue with my Bessa RF is largely an issue with me and not the camera, no surprise there. Interestingly, Certo6 did not pick up on the issue in my correspondence with him, so in my mind Charles is now The Man. The Bessa is now off to spend the next few days in far northern Wisconsin eating prodigious quantities of film, and then to take a well earned spa treatment with Fallisphoto.
I have done several comparisons recently, and have found that although achieving best focus with the Bessa (Heliar 105/3.5) is a bit more difficult (vertical alignment of the rangefinder is a bit off) than with the Zeiss Super Ikonta C (Tessar 105/4.5), that when I hit it right the Heliar is marginally sharper than the Tessar, has a slightly greater range of contrast and coloration, and to me a more pleasing Bokeh, although the Tessar's is also lovely but less formed and lacking in color variation (yes, I am primarily a color guy). The Tessar tends to produce greens that are a bit too saturated and without variation, tending more towards the blue than the yellow in hue. The Heliar seems to produce more pleasing and lifelike colors.
All this is not to bash the Zeiss, it takes beautiful pictures, I just had to decide which camera to take along for the ride, and the Bessa earned the prize (???) by a nose in a photo finish.
And yes, just so I don't get too spoiled by the joy of just carrying around a petite folder, the 8x10 is making the trip also. Oh, and batteries for the light meter.
Larry
 
I am so confused. Wasn't there something about cameras in here sometime?
Now far too complex for my simple mind.
LJ
 
What I do not understand is If all the former Bessa's were 6x9 why did not bring it out as a 6x9?
 
Yes, the Baby-Bessa was a 6x6 folder. Small compared to the other 6x6 folders of that time.
Still would be nice idea if there would be manufacturer who started with a new (and affordable) 6x9 folder :)
 
chippy said:
sqjaw, the original Bessa models were so successful, arguably linked with quality and produced over many years that it became a well known name to trade on (same with the Heliar lens name), nowadays Cosina also produce the 35mm Bessa RF. FWIW Voigtlander also produced 6x6 Bessa's models in the pre-war days, most were 6x9 though and the new Bessa III would have been nice if it was 6x9!
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Add to that that the Bessa was not just a 6x9 but was also offered in other formats. The whole question is drawn from a non-valid basis anyway. The Bessa III has almost nothing to do with the original Bessa and Bessa II. Entirely different camera, entirely different company and so on. They just bought the name. It's like those Japanese companies that made copies of German cameras right after WWII. I have an Okako Waltax that is a copy of a Zeiss Nettar and is obviously named after the Welta Weltax. These days you see Hong Kong lenses named Nikkon and Nikan. Panasonic is making "Leica" lenses. Same thing, but without the intent to palm off a shoddy product.

Jamie123 said:
We'll see about that.
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Yes, we will.
 
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6x6 Welta Weltur (who dreams up these names?) arrived yesterday from the Ukraine (I imagine with many tales to tell of life over the last 75 years if I only understand Ukranian cameraspeak), in very nearly fully functional state (will first need a stay in rehab with FallisPhoto to smooth out the rough edges) and looking like it will be a great shooter and a truly pocketable folder, albeit somewhat heavy for its size. Can't wait to see what a 75/2.8 Xenar moving front standard lens can do to some innocent 120 film. Very sexy look and feel to the camera. Even has the mask for 4.5x6 format. Happily drooling in anticipation of first light (light coming through the bellows already doesn't count).
This photo stuff is sooo dangerous. I'll never be able to afford retirement, yet never have time to shoot all these gems without it. Back to the lottery, I guess--hey Bartender, how about a special lottery for RFF subscribers to improve our odds compared to the state run offerings and ensure that the proceeds recycle back into the community where they rightfully belong (can't imagine anywhere here spending their winnings on something as mundane as a car). Could be amply funded using only our collective dreams, no need for actual cash money, good intentions could pass for the conventional currency offered by the states. Any takers?
Larry
 
ljsegil said:
6x6 Welta Weltur (who dreams up these names?) arrived yesterday from the Ukraine (I imagine with many tales to tell of life over the last 75 years if I only understand Ukranian cameraspeak), in very nearly fully functional state (will first need a stay in rehab with FallisPhoto to smooth out the rough edges) and looking like it will be a great shooter and a truly pocketable folder, albeit somewhat heavy for its size. Can't wait to see what a 75/2.8 Xenar moving front standard lens can do to some innocent 120 film. Very sexy look and feel to the camera. Even has the mask for 4.5x6 format. Happily drooling in anticipation of first light (light coming through the bellows already doesn't count).
This photo stuff is sooo dangerous. I'll never be able to afford retirement, yet never have time to shoot all these gems without it. Back to the lottery, I guess--hey Bartender, how about a special lottery for RFF subscribers to improve our odds compared to the state run offerings and ensure that the proceeds recycle back into the community where they rightfully belong (can't imagine anywhere here spending their winnings on something as mundane as a car). Could be amply funded using only our collective dreams, no need for actual cash money, good intentions could pass for the conventional currency offered by the states. Any takers?
Larry
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Larry, they could just cut directly to the chase by awarding the winner a restored camera -- or two -- or three...
 
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